Whether you are looking forward to converting a piece of land into a yard or adding some topsoil to the existing yard as part of the renovation, you’ll most likely face a problem with calculating the amount of topsoil needed. To add to the difficulty, topsoil is mostly sold in the calculation of cubic yards. Now, the question arises, what is the weight of 1 yard of topsoil? There is no straightforward answer to the question. There are many factors to be considered when finding how much a yard of topsoil weight. All of these factors and much more stuff regarding topsoil will be discussed in this article.
Table of Contents
What is topsoil?
To begin with, let’s get into what topsoil is? Topsoil can be determined as the topmost layer of the earth’s surface. It contains the highest amount of organic matter in comparison to the deeper layers of soil. Topsoil goes anywhere from 4 to 12 inches deep into the surface of the earth. It is the most useful among all the layers of soil as it contains high levels of organic material, nutrients, nitrogen, carbon, and minerals that promote plant growth.
Topsoil is the most beneficial for gardening or planting. The high levels of nitrogen, nutrients, organic matter, minerals help in providing food for the plant, thereby promoting healthy growth. If you feel like the topsoil has lost its fertility, extra substances like fertilizers and manure. Normal topsoil can easily be converted into garden soil by adding enough amounts of compost, manure, and fertilizers. One thing that you should remember is that topsoil should always be put at the surface if you want the plant to have healthy growth.
How much does a cubic yard of topsoil weigh?
A single cubic foot of topsoil weighs around 40 pounds which makes a total of 1080 pounds for one cubic yard. Any debris present in the soil and moisture content can affect the weight of topsoil so determining the exact weight of topsoil is a little difficult. There is not much dirt present in topsoil and it has a lesser amount of sediment in most cases so the weight should stay pretty much consistent.
How to calculate topsoil?
The measure of topsoil in cubic yards makes the calculation a little difficult but let’s get into it step by step. Topsoil comes in the measurement of cubic yards and mostly in bags of cubic feet. For a better understanding, 1 cubic foot is exactly 12 x 12 x 12 inches. In the same way, 27 cubic feet make 1 cubic yard. In simple words, if you take a cube with sides measuring 1 yard and fill it up with topsoil, that’s exactly the amount of a cubic yard of topsoil.
Now, let’s look at two methods that will help you calculate the amount of topsoil needed for a particular amount of land.
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Method one
To begin with, start by calculating the area you’ll be covering with topsoil. Calculate the length, width, and depth. Start by converting the width, depth, and length in inches and feet to yards. All that’s left to do is multiply all of them and you’ll get the final answer. The number you’ll end up with is the cubic yards of topsoil needed for the given area of land.
Method two
We’ve looked at calculating the amount of topsoil by converting the dimensions into yards. Now, let’s do the same by converting them into inches. In order to calculate the amount of topsoil, first, find out the dimensions of the area you are going to fill with topsoil. Calculate the depth, length, and width of the area you’ll be covering. If the dimensions are in inches, convert them into feet. Now, multiply all of the three dimensions and you’ll end up with the cubic feet. As we’ve discussed earlier, one cubic yard is equal to 27 cubic feet, so divide your answer with 27. The answer you’ll end up with is the amount of topsoil you’ll need to fill the desired area.